While Liverpool boss Arne Slot called the team's exit from the Champions League a shock, he took solace in losing to an excellent Paris St Germain team in a wildly entertaining two-legged tie that needed a penalty shootout to decide the outcome.
In what Slot labelled "the best game of football I've ever been involved in" PSG beat Liverpool 4-1 in the shootout to advance to the quarterfinals, winning Tuesday's second-leg match at Anfield 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ousmane Dembele.
"Yeah, of course it's a shock," Slot said. "But if you have to go out, and go out in a way like we did against one of the best teams in Europe and make such a fight out of it, I hope and think that every fan around the world was hoping that this game just kept on going, that it wouldn't stop because it was incredible.
"And they, in the end, won."
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved spot kicks from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones, while the visitors converted all of their efforts.
Liverpool had won last week's first leg in Paris 1-0.
Tuesday's loss was a rare low in Liverpool's season of highs. They hold a huge advantage in the Premier League title race and can hoist the League Cup trophy on Sunday with a victory over Newcastle United.
They were considered favourites to win their first Champions League title since 2019 after topping the table through the eight-game league phase, with victories in their first seven matches.
Slot had warned throughout, however, that winning the league phase did not mean much, and it turned out he was right.
"We really showed ourselves, we can be proud of what we did, won seven games in a row. We got out in a way that I think we've impressed Europe," Slot said. "But yeah, it is something now to take into consideration that we end up first in the league table and then face Paris St Germain in the next round.
"We were so unlucky to play Paris St Germain, but in the end if you want to win the tournament you need to beat teams like Paris St Germain."